CABANATUAN CITY—A 51-year-old congressional candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition in Nueva Ecija is facing a disqualification case for allegedly being an American citizen.
Rosanna V. Vergara, who is running in the third district congressional race, is the subject of the disqualification case in a petition to deny due course and cancel the Certificate of Candidacy filed Thursday with the Commission on Elections central office in Intramuros, Manila.
The petition was filed by Philip Piccio, a registered voter of Barangay Kapitan Pepe Subdivision this city.
Piccio is a known ally of outgoing three-term Gov. Aurelio Umali who is running against Vergara in the third district congressional race. Umali is a former two-term congressman of the district before becoming governor.
In his petition, Piccio said the disqualification is pursuant to Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to Comelec Resolution 9523 which provides for the denial or cancellation of CoC on the ground of false material representation wherein she stated that she is a Filipino.
Piccio said he filed the petition after Vergara indicated in her CoC that she is a registered voter of Barangay Rizdelis in this city in 2003.
He cited that Vergara is a holder of an American passport which she has been using in her numerous travels abroad. He added that based on her travel records, Vergara has been using her US passport as early as Aug. 15, 2002 and as such, it can be safely assumed that she was an American citizen.
“The question is that is Vergara an American or not? Another question is did she apply for Filipino citizenship? If she did not, then she is an American citizen,” Piccio stressed.
The petition stated that Vergara is not a natural-born Filipino and her renunciation of her American citizenship as stated in her CoC did not have the effect of transmitting or conferring upon her the status of a natural-born Filipino, thus making her a stateless person.
Piccio said that under Section 2 of Republic Act 9225 or the Dual Citizenship Law, Vergara needs to file a verified petition for reacquisition of Philippine citizenship before the Bureau of Immigration.
Assuming that Vergara reacquired her Filipino citizenship, the said reacquisition does not retroact to the date of her voter’s registration in 2003.
Piccio also accused Vergara of false representation by stating that she has been a resident of the Philippines for a period of at least 10 years and of Nueva Ecija for more than 21 years.
“Respondent Vergara abandoned her residence in the Philippines when she became a naturalized American citizen; her acts show that she intended America to be her place of domicile and residence,” Piccio said.
“How can you establish residency if you are using an American passport,?” he added.